Philippines

8 Dec. 2010 - I am in The Philippines. There is a lot to say about the country - from a rich history to the Lonely Planet guidebook - but let me stick to a few basic lines. It has 92 million inhabitants and it is the 12th most populous country in the world. It is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands and it is prone by earthquakes and typhoons.About 11 million Philippinos live overseas Th country is the biggest supplier of nurses in the world, and retention of qualified staff is generally a problem as pay is often so much better overseas. I learned that 70% of graduated nurses work outside of the country. Unlike many of their Asian neighbors, Philippinos do not eat with chopsticks but use western cutlery. However, possibly due to rice being the main staple food the main pairing of utensils is fork with spoon and not fork with knife. Most of the Philippinos are catholic, with only 5 - 10% of the population, mainly in the South, being Muslim.